Three Congresses: A Study in Worldviews

The 112th Congress is on summer hiatus. It's a good time to reflect on the recent activities of the body and contrast them with prior Congresses, most notably those of the House.
Comparing the priorities of Republican Speaker Boehner with those of his predecessor, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is an interesting exercise -- not just to catalog their considerable differences, but also as an illustration of the divergence in the worldviews of the two major parties in Washington.
Both Pelosi and Boehner were elected speaker when a president of the opposition party occupied the White House. In the 110th Congress, Pelosi had the advantage of a Democratic majority in the Senate. Boehner faces a Democratic Senate in the 112th. The intervening 111th was the first Congress in years to have Democrats in control of both houses and the White House
The ascendancy of both speakers was aided by voter reactions to the unpopularity, policies, weaknesses, failures, or...(Read Full Article)